Weighing apparatus



June 124, 1952 A. VAN DUYN WEIGHING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 2, 1947 Patented June 24, 1952 EIGHING K PPKRKTUS Adrianus a ya'ii' Duyn,

' 761 Claims.

yiwhich isemeant :apparatusradapted toeflect measurements by. @weighing; operations :having automatic.loadE'counterbalancing.means; hether meconstitutedmyvsprings '0l120th8I2WiSe,-; and-having the weightemdicatingrelement drivemby: a rack which is' associated i-withrshocki-absorbing .means adapted to damp, the fmovement -efwthe: load-inflnencedmecha-nismwhen a: load isisuddenlyap- 1ied,i.j:-andalso iwherrn load.iisrsuddenly -removed.

'; Weighing apparatusof the- -ferm-.statediisiprovided wheren :the-fishock l-abs orbin emeans comprises; at. pair members 1-pivotailymounted, 510114, doadinfluneed support, one of which members carries'the ack; said;v members; due .to the sinertia-zzof the rack-driirem artsy-pivoting; togethercrelatively to hegsupportaagainstltheraction ofiresilientimeans for one direction of movement of-the racln-and ivotingqirelatively-toonewanother against the, ctionor resilient means-riotatheiotheiadirection tzmoveme'ntof-ithemach-therebyleffectingpshock :bsorbing-iinceach direction ot-rnovementof the ack. -'-Further accordingto 1=th inviention said; shock absorbing means semay comprise 512;, pairioi-i arms pivotally mounted on aiioadeinfiueneeisupport, ne of-whichiarmsacarries-the .raclczand can be otated. in ODDOSltEEdiIEOfiQHBi relatively -to :zthe supportrz-by onposite 'forees act gcl'ongitudinally -01 the-rack, nand athe otherof which .upon-move- =ment-'of- ;the;: .firstwarm in onemdirectiorriis?moved ---;.i,ti i erebyand-in unison therewith-erelatiyely t'O-vthfi support:-throughe'arunidirectionai Gmlplingw ut is rerented sfronwfollcw-ing said-irfirst-iarm L K gaging-angabutment ontthe loadainfluenced -supnort -there ibeingi alsoaispringnurgingnsaid'ssecend: arm -.-against.its:abutmcnt,asaigkispringrthus resisting --the..=movementain unison-of': the1a-rms,

ie-and Lain-further. spring;acting' between z said aarms toaresiste movement. or: said iirackv-iaearryingi arm alcneiwheni the second armengagesits abutment.

I According to -a' furtherr feature-of theminventicn; there is provided ay-w eighmg c-lafiparatusrofthe ghtypeemplcyingawotarydrumachart and having a rcommcdity receiverisupported"above the drum by ma, weighing-.beam whose swinging "endextends" beneath and beyond the axisf 'thcf drumxzwherer.-in-: the drumois rotatedaby -sorbing' means'asaboue" defined? where iismount-ed: on wthea'beam:byimeansrof: :supportasingt memberwwhose point' ctriconnectionutcwthe trezrack ki-iiulcrum "of: thenbeam: athanv's is ;said'tiplanee rthei 3 1115;;inventiona relates toe weighing apparatus herwdirectioni ofgitsrelativemovementaby en Hillegersberg ;Rotterdam,

mounting permitting thevrackntoiunclergoarmove men-t: corresponding Zto the radiusaofhsaid-vpgix of connection, insteadcof to. its smaller actual r2 diuswfrom thebeamafulcrum.

.In-iurther'accorda-nce with the inventiomthei --is provided, an automatic weighingiapparatus i vhich, thenapparatus being of the typeuemploy ngzo-a rotary dr-u'm chart havingspring: counter alancing vmeans and a i; commodity receive o mountedv above-thedrum, the main-weighin W-beamis.vstirIupQShaped; and has .-its side ilimc pivotally connected intermediate their; endsto nglei-ryokehaving-t two @legsw and carrying cth commodity receiver, the drum: chart bei'ng dis used-transversely between the swinging-ends c lsaidfilimba -and thepivotal axisof. said 'fbfiflm be a ing providedby fulcrums at the endsotsaidJ-imb remote from thedrum chart; said 1imbs 1-furthe Wbei-ng connected at their swing-ingends each t gmthe lower end of a corresponding.upward1y ex i'tending coil spring anchored at its ipper enc' and. car rank '1 for; operation of ;the. :drum abein; w t/mounted. on the-beam in the mannerdeflned' i1 theeforegoing. paragraphs.

aReterenceswhei-ein to a stirrup shaped-weighing beamareintended: to; mean a beamrhavingnsidi -:members which a are rigidly spaced tmiorm't a1 e r-open frame capable of embracing For enclosing vanypart-s between. the side members.

9 In' orderwat the inventionmay be clearly unaderstood and readily carried intozefiect; referenci will-now bemade to the examplesof constructio:

. illustrated the. accompanying-- drawing, i1

which:

-- Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating the applicationmof' the invention to azweighing-ascale 01 :nthe rotary drum chart typer having-the commodir tyreceiver mountedeabove the drum-and employing;spring.counterbalaneing-means.

40 Eigurei 2is a?.diagrammaticperspectiverview llustrating su-itable forms 'of :the "main weighing beam andig-support' for thecommodity; receiver, wand alsoia-modified form of anchorage fo -"counterbalancing springs.

omprises a" relativelyishallow box-like rcasing I indicated in. dotted: lines") ',:.which ristzs'urmounted v zcommodityreceivemzandhagiloeated therei towards: the. front "thereof a? rotatable drum chart 3, a window 4 for observatiomof'thezrchart '-?-'being-provided"inuan upper :part of th'e icasing.

- Thai-beam of th'e "weighing 'scale is- 'stirrup hapediniplan 'view (seeespecially'l igurez hand a rhas parallek limbs 5 which extend alongthe-sides of the casing at; and "are rigidlyiconnccteddiy-bars 5a: (.ihl'ifull 1iries;1Eigure 2 or by asotransverse limb 5bza1on'g' they-rear or the: casing: Atatheinirear ends;-v thei p'araiiehlimbs aretifuicrumediribyrknife by knife edges 9 to a pair of downwardly extend-,-

ing brackets or legs III, constituted by a single yoke which carries the commodity receiver'z at its upper end. Near their forward ends, the limbs of the beam are connected by knife edges Ila to the lower ends of corresponding coil tension springs I I, one to each limb, th upper ends of which springs are connected (in Figure l) to a fixed part I2 of the structure. The coil tension springs II are uprightly disposed and located at opposite axial ends of the drum chart 3, so that the latter lies between the springs and also between the parallel arms of the beam. Alternatively, as illustrated in Figure 2, the said tension springs II may be connected at their upper ends to opposite ends of a compensating lever I2a,

pivoted at I2b. One (or, if desired, each) of the parallel arms of the beam 5 carries at its end an upright bracket I3, the upper end ll of which extends approximately horizontally towards the rear of the scale. The drum 3 is driven by means of a rack I5 engaging a pinion I6 on the drum spindle, and the said rack is hung pivotally from the free end of an arm I! which is pivoted at IIa on the upper end of the upright bracket I3, mounted flexibly at its lower end on the beam, by

means of a thin leaf spring. The free end of the arm IT, on which the rack is supported, extends approximately horizontally towards the rear of the scale. The pivoted rack-carrying-arm I1 is provided with an upstanding pin I8 which passes freely through a further arm I9 pivoted co-axially with the rack-carrying arm II. Said arm I! has an adjustable threaded pin forming a distance piece limiting the approach of the two arms I'I, I9, one to the other. Said pin 20 also constitutes a unidirectional coupling which transmits motion from the rack-carrying arm H to the arm I9 only in the upward direction. The bracket I4 is also provided with a lug Ha, on which is fixed an upstanding pin 2I extending freely through the said pivoted arm I9. Each of the two pins I8, 2|, carries an abutment Ila, 2Ia, respectively, for a compression spring (I8b, 2Ib, respectively), which acts between its abutment and the pivoted arm I9. The spring I8b urges the two arms I'I, I9, towards one another, and the spring 2Ib urges the arm I9 downwardly to a position determined by the lug Ila; which supports the arm IS in its lowest position. In the event of a sudden release of load from the commodity receiver 2, the inertia of the drum 3 causes the arm I! to rotate downwardly relative to bracket I3 which moves'upwardly, and the spring IBb yields in order to absorb the shock of the sudden release, the arm I9 remaining supported by the lug Ila. load is suddenly applied to the receiver 2, the inertia of the drum results in upward pivoting of the arm I1 and, through the pin 20, of the arm I9 relative to bracket I3 which moves dow ward- 1y. Thereby, the. other spring 2Ib is compressed to absorb the shock, the spring I8b remaining uncompressed.

By means of the above described construction, an extremely simple and robust shock-absorbing arrangement is obtained, by which the move-..

ment of the weighing mechanism is damped during both sudden loading and unloading.

The bracket I3 is constrained by a link- 23 to undergo a parallel motion during oscillation of the beam 5.. Accordingly, although, the plane of On the other hand, if a the rack I5 is substantially nearer to the fulcrum 5 than is the free end of the beam, th extent of movement of the rack is equal to that of the end of the beam. Consequently, for a given beam '5 ratio, a given beam deflection, and a given stroke of the rack, the drum 3 can be brought nearer to the fulcrum of the beam than if the plane of the rack passed through the extreme end of the beam, thereby providing a more compact construction.

The pivoted spring-anchoring beam I2a, in an apparatus of the kind described, having counterbalancing springslocated at spaced positions on either side of the central vertical plane of the commodity receiver, is useful in that if the commodity" tends to stress one spring more than another, the interconnection between the springs compensates forthis tendency by transferring a portion of the stress to said other spring.

The usual-check rods 22 for insuring parallelism of the scale plate may be provided.

An advantage of the construction'described in the foregoing is that the weight, and therefore the intertia effect, of the "cushioned parts is very small. Moreover, the employment of pivoted members in the shock absorbing device enables a high degree of accuracy to be obtained in the definition of the inoperative position of the shock absorbing parts, whichis most important for accurate operation of the/weighing scale.

Further, the incorporation or; the shock absorbing device between the beam and the rack enables the rack and pinion to be protected against sudden shocks.

While the preferred form of the invention has been herein shown and described, it is to be understood that various changes may be madein the details of construction, and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, within the scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. Weighing apparatus embodying a rotatable drum chart, means for rotating said drum. said means embodying a gear and rack mechanism, shock absorbing means embodying a 'pair of arms pivotally mounted on a load-influenced support, one of said arms carrying said rack and adapted to be rotated in opposite directions relative to the support by opposite forces acting longitudinally of the rack, means whereby the other of said arms will, upon movement of the first arm in one direction, be moved thereby and in unison therewith, relatively to said support through a unidirectional coupling, but is preventedfrom following said first arm in the other direction of its relative movement, by engagin an abutment on the load-influenced support, a spring operating to urge the second arm against its abutment, said spring thus resisting the movement in unison of the arms, and an additional spring acting between said arms to resist movement of said rackcarrying arm alone, when the second arm engages its abutment.

2. Aweighing apparatus embodying a rotatable drum chart, a commoditysupport, gear and rack mechanism for rotating the drum, shock absorbing means embodying a pair of members pivotally mounted upon a load-influenced support, said rack being carried by one of said members, said members due to the inertia of the rack 75.-oting relatively to one another against the action of resilient means for the other direction of movement of the rack, thereby effecting shock absorbing in each direction of movement of the rack, the shock absorbing means embodying a pair of arms co-axially pivoted on the load-influenced support and having their closeness of approach limited by an adjustable stop mounted on the one and co-operating with the other to constitute a undirectional coupling, said arms being urged to their mutually approached position by a spring acting between them, and the non-rack-carrying arm being normally held by a further spring against an abutment on said support, which permits movement of the said arm from its normal position only in the direction of motion transmitted by said coupling.

3. Weighing apparatus embodying a rotatable drum chart and having a commodity receiver supported above the drum by a weighing beam, whose swinging end extends beneath and beyond the axis of the drum, wherein the drum is rotated by a rack associated with shock absorbing means adapted to damp the movement of the load-influenced mechanism when a load is suddenly applied, and also when a load is suddenly removed, said shock absorbing means embodying a pair of members, one of which members carries a rack, said members due to the inertia of the rack driven parts, pivoting together relatively to the support against the action of resilient means for one direction of movement of the rack, and pivoting relatively to one another against the action of resilient means for the other direction of movement ofthe rack, thereby effecting shock absorbing in each direction of movement of the rack, said rack being connected to the beam by a supporting member whose point of connection to the beam is disposed on the opposite side of the transverse plane of said rack from the fulcrum of the beam, the mounting permitting the rack to undergo a movement corresponding to the radius of said point of connection, instead of to its smaller actual radius from the beam fulcrum.

4. Weighing apparatus embodying a rotatable drum chart and having a commodity receiver supported above the drum by a weighing beam, whose swinging end extends beneath and beyond the axis of the drum, wherein the drum is rotated by a rack associated with shock absorbing means adapted to damp the movement of the load-influenced mechanism when a load is suddenly applied, and also when a load is suddenly removed, said shock absorbing means embodying a pair of members, one of which members carries a rack, individual resilient means operatively associated with each of said members, said members due to the inertia of the rack driven parts, pivoting together relatively to the support against the action of one of said resilient means for one direction of movement of the rack, and pivoting relatively to one another against the action of the other of said resilient means for the other direction of movement of the rack, thereby effecting shock absorbing in each direction of movement of the rack, said rack being connected to the beam by a supporting member whose point of connection to the beam is disposed on the opposite side of the transverse plane of said rack from the fulcrum of the beam than is said plane, the mounting permitting the rack to undergo a movement corresponding to the radius of said point of connection, instead of to its smaller actual radius from the beam fulcrum, means pivotally mounting the shock absorbing members at the upper end of said supporting member, means flexibly connecting the other end of said supporting member to the beam at a point remote from the beam fulcrum, means guiding said supporting member whereby to provide substantially parallel motion during movement of the beam, said pivoted members having eiTective radius arms extending towards the beam fulcrum, and the rack being supported in an upright position on one of said arms, the plane of the rack thereby being between said supporting member and the fulcrum, but undergoing movement corresponding to that of the supporting member.

5. A weighing apparatus embodying a rotary drum chart, a commodity receiver above the drum, a main weighing beam of substantially stirrup formation, means pivotally connecting the side members of said stirrup to the ends of a commodity-carrying yoke, said yoke provided with two legs, said drum chart being disposed transversely between the swinging ends of said side members, the pivotal axis of said beam being provided by fulcrums at the ends of said side members remote from the drum chart, the swinging ends of said side members being connected to the lower end of a corresponding upwardly extending spring coil, means anchoring the spring at its upper end, a rack for operating said drum, and means mounting the rack upon said beam, the said spring means being disposed at spaced positions on either side of the central vertical plane extending longitudinally of said stirrup through the commodity receiver, a double-armed lever mechanism mounted upon a fixed part of the machine, said springs being connected to opposed arms of the lever, the pivot of said lever being intermediate the ends thereof and disposed in the vertical plane of the said commodity receiver.

6. A weighing apparatus embodying a rotary drum chart, a main weighing beam below the axis of the drum, means embodying a rack and pinion for rotating the drum, a bracket carried by the said beam, a pair of arms pivotally connected to and supported by said bracket, said rack being carried by one of said arms, a pair of upstanding pins, one of which is carried by the bracket and the other by the rack-carrying arm, both of said pins passing loosely through the non-rack-carrying arm, springs encompassing the pins and stressed against the non-rackcarrying arm, and an adjustable stop carried by one of the arms and engageable with the other arm to limit the movement of. the arms in a direction towards each other, whereby shock absorbing will be effected in each direction of movement of the rack.

ADRIANUS VAN DUYN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,460,087 Weber June 26, 1923 2,117,847 King May 17, 1938 2,167,872 Bristol Aug. 1, 1939 2,242,949 Hansen May 20, 1941 

